"basing for dismounted dragoons?" Topic

Dragoons without mounts fought as infantry. Line or light?

If Dragoons rode up to a situation which required foot troops, what type of formation and seperation could they adopt?

line?

extended line?

Skirmishers?

I'm trying to decide how to base figures for a battalion based game.

Use the standard basing for Infantry. Most times, dragoons only foungt dismounted due to lack of horses. It wasn't until the 1860's that cavalry as mounted infantry came back in vogue.

That's what I thought, but there must be some cases, in some countries in some year period, where they dismounted and fought on foot. (I'm an American and the War for Southern Independance had a lot of examples that they freely dismounted and fought on foot in everything from line (rarely) to extended and skirmish formation (usual). ) I'm just starting to reseach this for the Napoleonic era and want to find out more before the glue dries and the bases are flocked.

I think Napoleonic French dragoons often dismounted in Spain as part of their activities in guerilla-fighting and rear-area garrison troops.

There were occasions when Dragoons were sent to occupy something, and dismounted to do so. They were used extensively in Spain as anti-guerrilla so enter villages and act as foot troops.

I play Column Line and Square which has rules for Dragoons to dismount and fight on foot and vice versa. The dismounted figures are based and act like Light Infantry. The foot elements have one fewer figure than the mounted one, to account for horse holders. French Dragons mounted are 5 figures, dismounted are 4.

War for Southern Independence! I'm from Texas.. new one on me.

I just sold a unit of dismounted dragoons, 28mm, on eBay. I always uses them as desribed above – chasing Spanish guerillas, so they fought as skirmishers. Could be wrong, but it seems to make sense.

..So when dismounted they can be in line (shoulder to shoulder) or act as skirmishers? Can they be used to skirmish ahead of formed troops like a light battalion (I've never heard of them being used like that)or just as a screen to slow enemy advances?